TV Gids

It's funny how difficult finding certain pieces of information can be in a new environment. I've spent several months now guessing what was on television. Being stuck in a two room apartment with rainy, windy weather makes the TV quite attractive some days! However, a TV programming schedule isn't something I would remember to ask a Dutch friend. I looked for a bit on the web, but failed to find anything. Then, one day in the newspaper, I found it! And it answered so many questions...take a look at the TV Gids. You might find the timing of the shows and the variety of the programming to be interesting.

Favorite Holidays

Maybe I need to rethink my favorite holidays if we plan on living overseas. Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July don't seem like the best "favorite" holidays to have when living away from the States! However, it is always nice to see how American communities overseas celebrate these two quite American celebrations.

In Moldova this summer, Dan celebrated July 4 at a big picnic with the other Americans. It was quite large, and the food - well, he still talks about how good it was. In Finland, I celebrated July 4 on the dock over the lake. All we would have needed were some fireworks, and it would have felt like home.

Dan has fond memories of Thanksgivings celebrated with other Americans at a children's home near his hometown in Taiwan. And this week, of course, we celebrated our Thanksgiving here in the Netherlands. I'm not certain it is possible to celebrate a more historically meaningful Thanksgiving than the one we had two days ago. Before leaving for the New World, the Pilgrims, you see, lived for more than 10 years in Leiden, a town about 30 minutes by train from Rotterdam. Every year on Thanksgiving the American community in the Netherlands assembles at Pieterskerk in Leiden, to give thanks to God. It was a strange moment when I thought to myself, "So this is what many expats do all over the world on Thanksgiving." Then I had to remind myself, "Well, no, they don't ALL have a church to go to that the Pilgrims themselves used!"

It was fun to be around so many Americans, with children dressed up like Pilgrims, the American school's band playing, and many reminders of all we have to be thankful for. And it was also good for me to hear that many Americans, like me, so desperately miss home on Thanksgiving in particular: to see the 250 pound, 6'4" man two rows ahead of me cry duing the singing of "America the Beautiful" helped me to understand that!

On a side note, despite my serious doubts of being able to have Thanksgiving dinner properly, I did find turkey AND cranberries. Sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie were missing, but we did just fine...

Krentenbollen

The appelboll (from the oliebollen stand) was OK. But, I'm really not an apple fan...except when they are fresh and crunchy.

But the krentenbollen...oh my! Delicious!

The latest information on the oliebollen stands is that oliebollen are a traditional New Year's Eve treat. So I have plenty of time to enjoy the wonderful taste of krentenbollen (and the 6 gallons of olie that it is fried in, but who's counting?).

My Camera, My Friend

"Wanna go for a walk?" I ask Dan. "Only if you leave the camera at home," he replies.

Uh-oh. So how bad is this new "hobby" of mine?

The first picture I took in my new country (on 10 February 2005) that I have on my PC is numbered DSC3444.
The last picture I have on my PC is numbered DSC...gulp...7278.

I wish the camera counted by 3s...or even 2s. Alas, it numbers each picture one by one.

If You're Not Happy With the Weather...

Wait Five Minutes. The weather in *insert city name* never lasts for the long!

Yeah, yeah...every weatherman in the cities I've lived (extreme north, midwest, deep south) has said that. But Rotterdam is the first place where it is actually the truth!

I've kept meticulous note of the weather pattern today. Ask no questions why "today" starts at noon, please.

12:00 p.m. - 12:05 - heavy rain
12:05 - 12:09:55 - hail
12:09:55 - 12:10:45 - sunshine
12:10:45 - 12:15 - light rain
12:15 - 12:19:55 - sunshine from the east side of "The Attic"; light rain on the west side
12:19:55 - 12:25 - sunshine
12:25-12:29:59 - ominous clouds and whistling wind
12:30 - 12:35 - light rain

OK - you have to see my point. There was a period of non-rain or hail long enough to walk to the store, let it rain while shopping, and then brave the bone-chilling wind on the way back from the store. And for that, I am thankful.

Just Enough

After thorough and complex analysis on the Dutch way of life, I have determined that the Dutch can lead the way in helping mankind understand the concept that I will call the "Just Enough Syndrome". Whether or not the Just Enough Syndrome is good or bad is up for debate - I certainly do miss some of the frivilous excesses of America, yet I have grown to love the simplicity of this way of life. Here are some characteristics of the Just Enough Syndrome.
-We meet with some friends every other Friday. When the Africans or Americans are in charge of the food, there is an (over)abundance of snacks. When the Dutch are in charge of snacks, everyone gets just 1 of each. They bring just enough food.
-When invited over to a Dutch home for dinner, there will be 1 helping served for everybody. There is just enough dinner made for everyone.
-In the cities, anything larger than a 2 bedroom apartment is hard to find and harder to afford. The Dutch seem content with 2 bedroom homes - just enough space for 2 adults and 2 children!
-I can rarely buy a book of postage stamps that have more than 5 stamps in them. Just enough stamps to run out immediately.
-Many people wear the same clothes quite frequently - the same dress to church every week; the same coat and tie to a first and second interview; the same shoes for every outfit. They own just enough clothing.
-Salaries are quite low, compared to the States, and taxes are quite high, compared to Europe. Yet many mothers stay home with their children or work only part-time. And not many fathers work the 70 hour weeks that are common in America. They work just enough to support their just enough habits.

Oliebollen

The one at the end of our street popped up 10 days ago or so. There are several others scattered throughout the city, which I see from the tram or the metro. What are they? Well, I'm still not completely certain.

"They" are trailers where oliebollen are sold. The trailers are like the kind you would find in the States at carnivals, selling cotton candy or caramel apples (oh, that sounds good right now...). There are even carnival-style lights and carnival-style lettering on the trailers. The one at the end of our street has a 5th-wheel camper parked behind it; I presume that is where the oliebollen trailer owners live.

Oliebollen translates into "oil balls". Americans would call them doughnuts without the holes. Taiwan-familiar family members would call them "meiguo youtiao". And they taste like meiguo youtiao. There are plain oliebollen, apple oliebollen, olive oliebollen, raisin oliebollen...you get the point.

So many questions...who are these oliebollen sellers? Are oliebollen only sold during the fall? Is the fat content of oil balls more than Krispy Kremes? Finally, where is the carnival?

Our Surreal Life

It's been one of those days. Perhaps I grew too familiar with our life here. But suddenly - everywhere I turned today - the situation just didn't quite fit with the mental models I've been developing for these 29 years. And they didn't fit the ones I began acquiring 9 months ago, either.

• The park at the end of our street has been a pile of dirt since April. Today, suddenly, there is a footbridge in the park. And under the bridge there is a canal. This used to be a nice, green field. Who makes the decisions to put a bridge and a canal (with no outlet) in a park?
• Church this afternoon - Romanian, Dutch, and African leaders belting out Vineyard (American) worship music. A discussion of Luther and Reformation Day. A comment how the new Halloween celebrations in this country overshadow Reformation Day. A baptist-style alter call. The same end of service blessing my pastor in Birmingham uses (Now to him who is able...Eph 3:20-21.)
• At the mall, Christmas decorations for sale already. Why do they say, "Jingle Bells" and "Merry Christmas" in English and not in Dutch?
• Lunch at McDonalds. I could have ordered a McChicken, but not Chicken McNuggets. To get those, I would have had to order McNuggetsKip. (Kip is chicken.) Or I could have tried the McCroquette with 100% Rundvlees!
• I ate my lunch in the non-smoking section, but not in the non-dog feeding section. Two dogs at two separate tables. One sat in its owner's lap. The other feasted on the hot fudge sauce left in its owner's sundae cup. (Doesn't chocoloate kill dogs?)
• Shopping - is there anything for sale in this mall without ruffles on it? I feel as if I am in the minority to be shopping without a Muslim head covering.
• Walking from the Metro home, four children sweeping leaves off the sidewalk. Three of them are using brooms fashioned out of reeds and tied together with string - the kind you might picture a witch will use to fly away on. So I'm not the only one who can't find a proper broom here.
• Finally, the pre-teen boy who lives next to us rings our doorbell. "Do you have a key to our house?" he asks. No, we don't. "Well, then," he goes on, "Do you mind if I use the secret passageway to get into my house? I don't have my key." And sure enough, he lifts up the carpet, finds the door in the floor and slips into his own home. "Yeah," he says, "This has been here since the Nazi occupation. The people who lived here used it to hide from the Nazis since they were resistance workers." Ummm...OK.

Mevrouw Tassava

It's official. I'm assimilating into Dutch culture. Dutch junk mail in my inbox is my first clue. The greeting is my second clue - married names are not common here, so several companies want to use my maiden name.

Clues It Is Raining

The sound of rain drops on the roof above me make me think about Dan, who is done with class right now and still has a 15-minute bike ride home.

I SMS him a message - "It's raining." Hoping it will make him smile - it's quite obvious that it is. And the building closes shortly after his class ends, so he doesn't have the opportunity to wait out the downpour.

I wait for him to get home. (I admit, I'm glad it's not me outside right now. Good reason not to fix my flat tire?)

He steps slowly, slowly up the stairs. This isn't a good sign.

30+ stairs later - the poor man.

His jeans are now two-toned. Dark blue (and wet) in front; light blue (and dry) in back. His water-resistant windbreaker is dripping. The cats scatter from his feet after the first drops. His shoes are heavy - water-logged. His glasses are spattered with rain drops. His hands wet and cold.

His white socks have been dyed blue from his shoes. The windbreaker isn't waterproof. His orange and blue button-down shirt is nearly as wet as the jacket. His white t-shirt is nearly as wet, and now it is orange.

Yep, it is raining.

Isn't that Illegal?

The job hunt. Differences abound. It is common for CVs to be 2, 3, or 4 pages long for somone with 5+ years of experience. Yet in America, 2 pages can raise eyebrows for a business job. And I know, from looking at the MBA student's CVs, from the reading I've been doing about the European job hunt, and from the "Working in Finland" seminar I took in Finland, that date of birth, picture, nationality, marital status are all common information one puts on a CV here.

But I still don't buy it. It just seems wrong. Isn't it illegal?

Not on the east side of the Atlantic. I finally got it yesterday - I must conform. I've been doing some "practice interviewing" with a Dutch company. It is to help train recruiters and hiring managers, but the practice candidates, like me, also recieve feedback. I've established a rapport with one of the coaches, and she put it quite plainly to me yesterday, "You know, you really seem quite closed about your personal life. You really should consider sharing more about yourself on your CV like your date of birth and in the interview you should give more information about your family and why you've moved here."

Eesh. It just seems wrong. But I'm not in America. I'm not in America.

So I will conform. I will add my date of birth and my nationality to my CV. In the interview, I will admit that I followed my husband here so we could pursue a dream. Shall I also admit my race (Caucasian), my religion (Christian), my sexual orientation (hetero-)? I'm just not there yet.